A virtual receptionist for Indian businesses
A virtual receptionist answers your business phone without sitting at your desk. In India the term has meant two different things: a person at a call centre answering for many businesses, and now a conversational receptionist that answers in the caller's language and sends the details to your WhatsApp. This page explains both, what they cost, and how to decide.
The two kinds of virtual receptionist
The older kind is a shared human receptionist. A call centre answers for dozens of businesses, reads from your script, takes a message, and emails or texts it to you. It works, but the receptionist changes every shift, speaks whichever languages the centre hires for, and the price climbs with every minute.
The newer kind is a conversational receptionist that runs on your own number. It answers on the first ring, in the language the caller uses, asks the questions your business needs answered, books the slot, and sends you the name, number and reason within seconds of the call ending. It does not get busy, does not go home at 8 pm, and costs the same on a Sunday as on a Tuesday.
What it actually does on a call
It greets the caller as your business, tells them the line is automated and may be recorded, then listens. A patient asking for a dental appointment is asked for their name, which doctor they want, and a convenient time. A customer asking whether you are open gets the answer from the hours you set. A caller who wants a person during working hours is passed to your staff, and if your staff does not pick up, the receptionist takes the details instead of letting the call ring out.
Every conversation ends with a confirmation: the number read back digit by digit, the time repeated, and a promise of who will call back. The transcript and a summary are saved against the call so you can check exactly what was said.
What it costs in India
A human receptionist in a tier-2 city costs a salary of roughly fifteen to twenty-five thousand rupees a month, plus the calls they miss while at lunch, on another line, or after hours. A shared call-centre receptionist is usually priced per minute or per call and adds up fast for a busy line.
HiThisIs plans for India start at a fixed monthly amount with a bundle of minutes, so a clinic knows its cost before the month starts. See the India pricing page for the current plans, what is included, and the per-minute rate beyond the bundle.
Setting it up takes one afternoon
You keep your number. Sign up, tell the receptionist about your business in plain words (doctors, timings, services, what to ask), and forward your existing mobile or landline to the receptionist number using the codes on our call forwarding guide. Most businesses forward only the calls they miss, so their own staff still answers when free.
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Jio, Airtel, Vi, BSNL and landlines, with the ring-time setting.
Handled properly, by the book
Callers are told the line is automated and that the call may be recorded to handle their request. Personal data is handled under India's DPDP Act 2023. Any outbound call is a service or appointment update to your own patients and customers, never marketing and never spam.
Questions people ask
Is a virtual receptionist the same as an IVR?
No. An IVR is a recorded menu that asks the caller to press numbers. A virtual receptionist has a conversation: the caller speaks normally, is understood, and gets an answer or an appointment. Most Indian callers hang up on a press-1 menu within the first few seconds.
Can it answer in my language?
Yes. It answers in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Malayalam and English, and switches mid-call if the caller does.
Do I have to change my phone number?
No. You forward your existing number, on the conditions you choose, to the receptionist number you are given.
Where do the call details go?
To your WhatsApp within seconds, and to a Google Sheet if you connect one. Each alert carries the caller's name, a ten-digit number, and what they wanted.
Can my staff still answer calls?
Yes. The usual setup rings your staff first and passes the call to the receptionist only if nobody picks up in ten to fifteen seconds, or the line is busy or unreachable.
Give your business a front desk that never sleeps
Free trial. Rupee pricing. Answers in your callers' language.